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Here is how my practice has been structured today:
I. Lip bends and brief scales and arpeggios. After that, I did a strength building routine (as outlined in Dueling with Pinchas) — 30 minutes
**Rest approx. 2 hours**
II. Work on three movements from Claude Boling’s Toot Suite (to be performed with our new Dean, Shelly Berg, this coming Thursday) — 1 hour
**Rest approx. 3 hours**
III. Bai Lin Lip Flexibilities — 40 minutes
**Rest approx. 2 hours
IV. Etudes (including some piccolo playing, probably from the Maurice Andre etude book). Maybe some articulation studies: Gekker, etc. (40 minute to an hour depending on how I feel)
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After reading that you may be wondering, “Where is the Stamp routine? Where is the balanced skill set touching on every trumpet skill? After all, you have written articles singing the praises of all those things. Why aren’t they in your routine?” Those questions are understandable and certainly justified. Let’s take a closer look at my practice day and the decisions that led to it.
You can see that I am covering skill set material (flexibility and likely articulation), and the primary focus of the morning session was on foundation material, only it was specifically oriented toward strength. Why, you ask? Very simple. I felt like that was what I needed. I have a demanding concert coming up this Thursday and I know that I need to make strength a priority as I prepare for it. Today’s practice schedule is simply a reflection of that. What does that mean for you? It means that you don’t have to be a slave to a routine, especially if there is a more relevant way to spend your time. Always use your mind to determine if you are doing what is best for you. This may sound obvious, but it always amazes me how rare it actually is. It is a key ingredient to achieving your maximum potential, and it is a key factor in separating the good from the great.
These two statements by you: “I felt like that was what I needed. It means that you don’t have to be a slave to a routine, especially if there is a more relevant way to spend your time. Always use your mind to determine if you are doing what is best for you.” I believe this is something that is hard to get across to students at times. I have some that want me to lay out everything that they will practice and yet I tell them that sometimes they have to decide what is best for them that day. I know that if upper register material is to be played by me that week (I am not a lead player) I need to concentrate on that aspect of my playing, locking into pitches above high C and being able to articulate clearly up there. Or if it is a long gig, yes the endurance factor becomes what I feel I need to work. I love to put on a Aebersold CD and play straight through it like I am on a gig with only 30 seconds between tunes to keep the customers happy. Thanks for making those statements because it is true one needs to learn what they need to do for them self at times and not rely totally on their instructor to lay it all out for them.
Musically, Sparky